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In case you missed it, I did a blog interview with St. Louis author Susan McBride over at the Missouri Writers’ Guild Conference Blog last Thursday. Susan will be one of the speakers at the Guild’s 2012 “Write Time! Write Place! Write Now!” Conference.

With that interview, Susan graciously donated a copy of her most recent book LITTLE BLACK DRESS to give away to one lucky commenter. Commenting closes tonight, so you still have a chance to win.

Parents are always a sticky problem for young adult writers. Your protagonist can’t have exciting adventures if her parents are continuously blocking her fun – a feeling, I’m sure, many kids relate to. However, sitting in time out doesn’t make for a good story. Unless that story is based at a detention camp where your protagonist has to dig Holes all day. But even, in Louis Sachar’s story Holes, his main character’s parents are MIA for all but the first and final chapters of the book.

The problem with parents as characters is that most parents in real life are buying the book for their children. Most parents don’t like buying books, especially for younger readers, that don’t display parents in a good light. Figuring out how to develop characters that are acceptable to parents, librarians, teachers and other adult figures AND their children and students can be a daunting task.

Earlier this month, I spent time with the King Family who live in Weldon Spring, Mo. Their son, Tyler, has been diagnosed with Duchenne Musular Dystrophy. Through my day job, I’m constantly writing about mesothelioma, so I understand how frustrating it can be for families like the Kings who have been impacted by a rare disease that doesn’t receive much media attention.

This is why I spent four hours at their home and even hitched a ride with the cyclists’ caravan down Highway 94. Just to make sure I had all the information to write the best story I could.

The final article took me three hours to write. It was a hard topic to write about – to stay honest about the fact that DMD has no cure, but, also, present the optimism and hope, I observed from everyone there that day. I hope I succeed. You can click here to read the article or I’ve pasted it below.

From Cali to the Jersey Shore
Cyclists spanning the country for a cause stop in Weldon Spring

By Sarah Whitney, For the Journal
Saturday, August 14, 2010 3:05 AM CDT

Just after 2 o’clock in the afternoon Aug. 7, 14-year-old Tyler King pushed the joystick on his motorized wheelchair forward and raced toward “heaven.”

But the parade of cyclists whizzing down his street in Weldon Spring beat him there.

“I couldn’t go any faster. The chair only goes so fast,” Tyler said later.

Once they dismounted, each cyclist shook hands with Tyler and introduced themselves.

The cyclists, called the JettRiders, are a group of teenagers and adult leaders biking across the United States to raise money for research and awareness about Duchenne muscular dystrophy – the disease Tyler lives with.